


burning rivers ［江］

by bubblegum shaved ice (mygalaxy)



Series: under heaven [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Ancient China AU, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, But still not legal, Ends on a sweet note, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Mutual Pining, Past age of consent, Porn With Plot, Romance, SasuSaku - Freeform, Starting from childhood, wuxia!verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 02:28:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12644283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mygalaxy/pseuds/bubblegum%20shaved%20ice
Summary: He has strangled Sakura in their spars. Held her body flush against his own when they played as children and even cut her precious hair for her when she asked him.But he has never been able to - never been allowed - to hold her face like this."What if I said that I want you?"





	burning rivers ［江］

"Who is this?"

They first met when Sasuke was thirteen. He has no idea of how old Sakura may have been when he first saw her, he had only ever been told her birthday ( _March 28 March 28 March 28_ ) without knowledge of her sheungchen-bazi. She looked his age but didn't seem so at the same time. Her voice lacked the screechiness he knew of from girls back in the Uchiha clan, before they were all murdered.

Their shifu - Hatake Kakashi, the One Who Copied - had picked him up after his clan's massacre, allowing him to join their martial arts sect Konohagakure to prepare for revenge. Kakashi had said that he was indebted to one of his clansmen, but he never knew why until years thereafter.

"He's a new addition. Your first shi-di, isn't that great? Take care of him Sakura." Kakashi pretty much gives Sasuke to Sakura like a father giving away a bride.

He still remembers the look of utter disgust she gave him when he said that he didn't need looking after, especially not by a girl. But she only took him by his ( _small? useless? powerless? dirty?)_ hand before stripping him of his clothing and dunking him in the healing springs at the back of their cave.

Under normal circumstances, he would not have let a stranger do this to him. But if things were normal, he would have never have arrived at Konohagakure. Nor would he have met Sakura.

"Scrub yourself clean," She gestured towards the crusting blood over his skin and under his nails before eyeing him up and down. Noticing his diminished height due to the dampened hair, she added another word. "Midget."

Girls in the clan didn't fight. And it was the first time Sasuke had ever fought with a girl.

Properly fought.

With fists and biting and hair pulling and sand throwing. Everything mother would have disapproved of, and father had told him was dishonorable. But they were no longer here to reprimand him because they were killed, and he would avenge them. Now, he no longer had a family. Now, he only had a strange ( _pretty, very pretty)_  girl who let him take out his anger on her by humouring his petty punches with effortless parrying.

He knew that she had let him vent on her on purpose soon after. He'd seen her fight and it was nothing like the alley brawling he attempted.

Sakura danced when she fought, ribbons and sleeves entangled to strangle those they viewed as enemies. Hair parted to leave only the longer layers down as it flowed in the wind when she flew, the poisoned tips of her hair pins keeping petaled strands tightly in place. A red ruqun had always been her choice of clothing, pulling the bottom half closely under her developing breasts. He always thought that it was her way of seducing men -  _him._  The women outside had never wore their skirts above their waists.

With blood over her, drenched blades and a shy smile of pride when Sakura sees that she kept her shi-di safe; to the thirteen year old Uchiha Sasuke, she was the most beautiful thing he had seen in his young life.

"Sasuke. You're part of the family now. So please try to keep yourself safe."

"Ah."

Wiping the residue of blood away from his face with a clean finger, Sakura saw the lost fire in his eyes light again. The potential was there, so much raw potential that it was dangerous. But she had always been attracted to danger.

"Become powerful."

xxx

In two year's time, he easily caught up to some of the more advanced disciples. Training had become his life and the intense rivalry he had developed with Sakura only fuelled it further. The way they fought was so different that they would never determine a winner and when paired, they always covered the other's weaknesses. While the two of them were skilled at close range attacks, that remained the only similarity between their styles.

Women in the sect were much more able in flight as they glided so often, even outside of battle. Kakashi had explained to him that it was the lotus shoes that prevented them from long periods of walking and kicking. And as such, even while in close range, Sakura preferred using her hands. Blades, fans, fists, and nails. Anything she saw fit. Her ability to distinguish the 'breaking points' of enemies and objects becoming so powerful, she could shatter mountains with a pinky finger. Paired with her ability to control her sleeves as she liked, she was adept at fighting in mid range as well.

Due to his natural affinity to fire and lightening, Sasuke had focused on nurturing his nei-gong.

By fifteen, moulding lightening to his command was not beyond his capabilities. Preferring a traditional blade to hand-to-hand combat, he had also become skilled at mastering different techniques with his Sharingan - which he later learned was part of the reason Kakashi had taken him in.

They always fought, tooth and nail. Kakashi said that it was Yin and Yang and that they balanced one another out, but they both knew better. It was like mixing oil and water whenever they were together. Sparks flew, yes. But fire also built. And with fire, it never burnt out without destruction.

At fifteen, fighting Sakura was still possible. He was still able to control himself. She still didn't use herself against him.

At fifteen, the greed for revenge and power still blinded his hunger for her.

xxx

She was an enigma in their primarily male profession of wushu practitioners, and the only female ruler of a sect in the entirety of Jianghu when Kakashi proclaimed his plans to retire, going into hiding.

In the month he turned sixteen, Sakura had become been his shi-jie and master all at once, completely off limits due to the difference in ranking between them. A senior in more ways than the four months in between their birthdays.

The carved commandments on the cave walls spoke of love wretchedly. A paradox full of faults. Relationships within the sect were prophesied to equate to only disaster. An end would come with both leaving the sect, or in the death of one at the hand of the other.

It would have been a taboo to pursue her, and there would have been no point. He was happy simply staying by her side as an aide and follower. Keeping her alive was enough for him. He needn't much more. Apart from avenging his clan, protecting his master was all the mattered.

With her inauguration as the new head, he had been elevated to a position with the second utmost power within the sect.

This was Sakura's own way of protecting him. With more responsibilities on his shoulders and the sect's expansion, it would mean that Sasuke would not have the chance to leave the cave. Thus, he would not be exposed to dangers.

Sakura knew that Sasuke would not always be with Konoha, that he had another fate, but to have him to herself just a little longer was a selfish wish that she would not let go of.

Not yet, at least.

"Sasuke... are you happy here? With me?"

"Of course. I will always be happy with you. My life is yours to use as you like." He knelt before her, sword placed against his heart. "Always."

She knew that he only meant the latter half. He did not care for Konohagakure - not the same way she did. But as long as he cared for her, she would use it to protect him.

"Good. Stay by my side. I cannot rule without your aide beside me."

xxx

It is the banquet of his seventeenth birthday that their relationship begins to change.

More accurately, the evening that follows the banquet he didn't want to attend and she didn't allow him to skip.

The amount of men at the banquet was dwindling on none and even the blinded gatekeeper of the cave could tell from the chittering and chattering that there were only ladies present. Ladies that had unmarred skin, smooth glossy hair and un-calloused hands. Ladies that dressed demurely, with their skirts at their waist to hide their figures and servants that carried them around in palanquins. Sakura had ordered the men of the sect to leave that evening, drown away their sorrows in drinks or visit the local red light district if they so desired. Even the numerous shi-di he had as young as twelve were forced to hide within their rooms, while his shi-mei were all transformed to pour wine and offer snacks to the guests.

Just thinking about it made Sasuke see red.

Kicking the door to Sakura's chamber open, he stormed up the stairs that led to her throne.

"What do you think you are you doing?" He growled.

"What do you think?" A raised eyebrow, a haughty stare, and a blank face warning against his disobedient tone. "Choose one tonight. Anyone you desire shall be yours."

Her outstretched hand is covered by a long sleeve that drops all the way to hit feet, hitting his shoes. Reminding him of the difference between them. Where he stands is directly influenced by her hand and her words. They will never be more than this.

Not unless he does something.

"Anyone can be mine." He repeated. Testing her reaction.

Her face was a cool marbled facade, but Sasuke could see the pinching at the corner of her eyes and the shaking of her pupils as she looked at anything but him.

She loved him too. He knew that she loved him too.

How could they not have fallen in love? They were perfect together. There was no way she didn't see it as well. He knew of what she was trying to do years ago.

"The fathers of the present are all notable wushu legends. You will be treated well under their house and will learn only from the best. Gain access to their family secrets. Become the head of their family. All their glamour and splendour will be yours. Everything you see tonight is yours. Anything -  _anyone_ \- you wish to lay your eyes and hands on, just say the word and I shall see to it."

_Don't say it as if I want any of them more than I want you._

"What if I said that I want you?" Sasuke whispered.

"There is nothing to offer to you anymore..." She begun, only for her conviction to break as she saw the look in Sasuke's eyes.

He let his hand reach up towards her face. Holding it. He has never had the chance to hold her face in his hands before. He has strangled Sakura in their spars, held her body flush against his own when they played as children and even cut her  _precious precious_ hair for her when she asked him. But he has never been able to -  _never been allowed to_  - hold her face like this.

Her skin is baby soft under his rough fingers, and the bottom lip he traces with his thumb is full and rosy. His Sakura that sits atop him in her pedestal, sits atop the whole sect; despite all her prowess as a ruler and achievements as a fighter; is a girl still. And he can't imagine just how much she has given up to reach her spot.

He wonders if she has ever wanted to sit on the rope swing like the servant girls he has seen. Or dress up and tie ribbons in her hair like the blonde he saw earlier this evening. Perhaps wear rice powder and rouge? The blotted carnelian paper would be striking against her pale skin from being trapped in this cave she has never left.

Sakura held his hand against her own, revelling the power. The warmth of his palms despite the coldness of his fingers. It had been so long since she had been touched by someone. She craved touch. She just wished that Sasuke would not be burdened as she was. He shouldn't have to suffer after all the pain he has already went through. He deserves more than this cursed relationship and she didn't deserve someone as perfect him. Someone's who's desires were as pure and love was as wholehearted as his.

But she needed him to survive.

"A ruler does not go against her words. What you want will be yours. You just have to say the words."

Letting his lips rest against the nape of her neck, he kissed the pulse that raced right under it. The pulse that was calling to be marked as his.

"Then I want you. I want you, Sakura."

She felt his words against her skin before her ears heard them and her mind processed them. This would be her excuse later on for accepting this taboo relationship... Her body had already reacted before her mind. Though she started out slowly by tugging loose the robes that covered Sasuke's body from her, she ripped them apart with her nails when she felt Sasuke bite into her, sucking the sore spot over and over, as if devouring her until the blood beneath bruised, before his lips met hers to silent a cry that would have resonated through her quarters.

Releasing Sakura, he mused that - indeed - a touch of rouge against her lips would be immensely flattering if the bitten redness of her lips were anything to go by.

He did not mind his state of undress despite Sakura's choice of donning her full set battle robes. Removing each layer slowly would prove even more pleasurable and rewarding. Stripping her of her shoes first, wriggling her feet out of their pointed covers and unwrapping the bindings that covered her lean legs, he tore off her dangling sleeves next, causing her to scratch along his bare back when the cold air hit her.

Un-tying the red ribbon tied right below her breasts, he let the back of his hands bump upwards with each movement. Stroking the outer sides of them and the underside with the hollow between his thumb and pointer, stopping centimetres from her nipples.

Peeling the layers off while letting his mouth follow the traces of skin being revealed, Sakura let her body be worshipped by the only man she ever trusted. How he had come to know of these things she doesn't know, but with the tales of sexual accomplishments that traveled down through the sect from the older members always floating around - she could only blame them.

When he finally pulled the cloth covering her chest off to reach the silken mo-xiong, Sasuke pulled apart the butterfly knot at the back to watch the embroidered cherry blossom petals fall off its tree, the cover crumpled and the threads completely breaking apart in front of him.

The icy touch of his hands against the hard nipples sent shocks of shivers through the surface of her skin when he allowed himself to touch her. Skin against skin. For once, bare.

"Don't tease." She cried. Catching herself at the last moment to add a quiet 'it's un-becoming' to Sasuke's amusement. Even during sex, Sakura behaved annoyingly endearing in her own way.

"As you command."

Removing the last of her clothing by pulling them downwards while he kneeled himself, he pushed her thighs apart while her hands clutched at the sides of her throne. Sasuke kissed her thigh, his mouth hot, his sharp chin digging into tender skin. Head dipping down, his tongue reached out towards her virgin flesh. At the speed Sakura had tried to shut her legs back together, if he hadn't held her apart - he thinks his neck might have been in trouble.

"Relax."

"I- I can't."

"You can. Just relax. Please."

Pulling at his hair with one hand, she raised her right leg - her stronger one - in hopes of releasing of the pressure she felt. It was like waves of warmth ran through her each time Sasuke touched her. At this moment, she couldn't think of anything but the wetness and the soft texture of something rubbing against the place no one had ever touched her before. Stroking the tip with his tongue, he gave it an experimental flick, only for her to jerk upwards, allowing him the chance to bury his mouth against her sex.

Sakura's first orgasm hit her violently, it seemed as if her entire body was not her's to control. It matched only with Sasuke's coaxing rhythm. Every quiver, pulse, muscle, thought - they all surged together, amassing only into one exquisite rush of pleasure.

As Sasuke replaced his mouth with a single finger, gently spreading her contracting sex apart through the wetness, her head was thrown back even further as she cried out loudly, tears streaming down her face. Sakura sobbed and moaned, riding the swell, letting it take her as she rode on his hand, letting it take her, letting the heat pump and swirl and ripple through her before it finally subsided when her pulled his finger out.

"Kiss me."

"Stop giving me orders."

She still had her pride no matter how they ranked against one another now.

"Now, Sasuke. Now now now." Wriggling, she tried to get out of the most exposed position she's ever been in. "Kiss me first."

Sasuke could only follow with how demanding she was. It was like his body was wired to follow any command after years of taking care of her. One of his hands slid beneath her hips, aligning her exactly with the hard ridge behind his trousers as he captured his target above. Sakura whimpered against his lips, shaken by the previously unknown pleasure, wanting to stay against him like this forever.

She lay her mouth atop his as she had seen a couple do once before when she had sneaked out of the cave. A kiss. But when Sasuke wrapped his tongue around hers - sucking on her own as he had done to her  _there_  just before, she squeaked and retreated, covering her mouth.

Grabbing the hindrance of a hand away from the face he wanted to see, he kissed her again. Deeper than before, giving her time to respond and experiment. Before long, they were kissing as if they were fighting. They bit. And sucked. Tongues pushing and pulling.

Battling for dominance with their lips, he pushed against her opening. The last piece of fabric between them off with a quick tug, Sasuke nods to her for permission before pressing slightly into her, the mushroomed head teasing her entrance.

He loomed over her, his full height even more apparent with her own diminished size due to the sitting position. Panting, staring at her dazed face, she pulls him closer, flexible limbs easily moving apart to accommodate him. As he enters her body, a sharp pain echoes through her, but he only goes deeper. There's too much of him all at once and the intrusion is both slow and hard and relentless.

As if punishing her for keeping them apart for so long. For denying their feelings and allowing them to suffer alone.

When he has gone as far as her resisting flesh can take him, he holds still and tries to soothe her. His mouth sliding over her eyes, her cheeks, her throat, her breasts.

Despite his usual silence, Sasuke is the one that says the first words since they've been joined.

"I love you."

The sheer intimacy of the moment scares the both of them. The feeling of holding the him inside her body and the feeling of impaling someone you treasured so much...

Murmuring his name, murmuring 'I love you's, she slid her palms behind him and urged him to continue when the initial discomfort calmed. Sasuke thrust cautiously despite the control it is costing him, beginning by pulling out completely and pushing back in, gradually shifting to quicker half thrusts in attempt to relieve the building wave of lust and love.

It had hurt, and yet there was an assuaging and easing pressure in his movements. Instinctively, her body opened up to him, accepting more of him and pulling him closer, knees bent to cradle him.

The quiet groans and fragmented words and his roughcast breathing drives her crazy. Sakura loves seeing this side of Sasuke somewhere outside of battle. It still feels un-real. What was happening between them shouldn't happen, and yet, she enjoys it so. And it becomes easier and easier to take him in and accept his displays of affections - the hair stroking, the kissing, the marking... Her hips lift naturally to meet his with each forward motion. The slippery flesh both plunging and grasping desperately against one another.

They tried to come in unison, but Sasuke came first, his body trembling before an almost pained cry comes from his throat and he falls in a heap atop Sakura. Struck down by the violence of his orgasm inside of her and the feeling of being filled completely with something so foreign yet familiar, Sakura slumps below him, contracting around his limp member - every little touch within only bringing her more pleasure even without movement.

Lying in a pool of sweat and sex, disheveled over piles of lacerated cloth, he wonders how she still manages to be the most beautiful being he's ever seen.

"Marry me, Sakura. And we will rule to whole of tianxia together."

**Author's Note:**

> Sheung Chen Ba Zi （生辰八字）= Dates of birth according to the lunar cycles  
> Shi Fu （師父）= Master, similar to the 'shishou' which Sakura uses to address Tsunade in canon with  
> Ru Qun （襦裙）= Robes made up of a top with a skirt worn throughout the Warring Periods (let's just say this was set in the Song Dynasty)  
> Shi Di / Shi Jie （師弟／師姐）= Think kouhai-otouto and senpai-oneesan, but with a stricter sense of seniority  
> Shi Mei （師妹）= Kouhai-imouto? See above  
> Nei Gong （內功）= basically the chakra of this WuXia!Verse  
> Wu Shu （武術）= The same word in English  
> Jiang Hu （江湖）= Term to describe martial artists in wuxia stories  
> Wu Xia （武俠）= Martial Art Heroes  
> Mo Xiong （抹胸）= An ancient bra... (I think this is the most accurate description I've written in the whole glossary)  
> Tian Xia（天下）= Literally, everything 'under heaven' - so, 'the world'


End file.
